Standout Houston Cougars Offensive Lineman Declares for NFL Draft
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After the incredible Texas Bowl win in late 2025, the Houston Cougars football have been going through the offseason changes with multiple players either looking to go pro or transferring out.
Houston’s offensive line has been subject to a lot of change, given the fact that it consists of upperclassmen. Three starters will not return to Houston, and one of them was manning the right tackle position all season.
Redshirt senior offensive tackle Dalton Merryman officially declared for the 2026 NFL Draft earlier this week. This is a big loss, but likely expected by the Cougars given all their investment into the offensive line with their transfer portal and recruiting class for 2026.
Thankful too everyone that’s been apart of this crazy journey! Can’t wait too see what the future holds! #GoCoogs #UBREAKABLE @UHCougarFB pic.twitter.com/SGTWlDFKs2
— Dalton Merryman (@dalton_merryman) January 14, 2026
More on Merryman’s Journey
Merryman joined the Cougars in 2025 after transferring from Texas Tech as a redshirt junior. He had spent two seasons as a Red Raider in 2023 and 2024, but only saw game action in his junior year. Merryman made six starts with Tech in 2024, all at left tackle. That also included nine game appearances.
He showed a lot of promise after missing the entire 2023 season due to injury. Merryman allowed no sacks through the first five games and only gave up two sacks in 267 chances. His run and pass block grades were consistently ranked quite high among the Big 12 and Power Four tackles.
Merryman truly established himself as a reliable swing tackle after handling right tackle in Houston for the entire year. With his massive 6-foot-9 height and 305-pound build, Merryman is an intimidating matchup for any edge rusher and can definitely match or exceed the NFL size standard for his position.
The Montgomery, Texas, native wanted to transfer to UH last year because Houston is home to him. His hometown is just about an hour away from the main city. Merryman played high school football at Montgomery High School, where he was first-team all-county and was honored as lineman of the year.
Merryman joined Tarleton State out of high school and redshirted during 2021, his first collegiate season. He then transferred to the junior college level, where Merryman played nine games as a redshirt freshman at Blinn College in 2022 before moving to the Power Four level in Lubbock.
It has been a great journey for Merryman to play at the highest collegiate level and he will likely receive interest from NFL teams.
For Houston, they return redshirt senior right guard McKenzie Agnello and redshirt junior left tackle Alvin Ebosele. Incoming junior transfer from Miami, OH, Drew Terrill will likely replace Merryman. Houston also has two incoming freshmen tackles.
Maanav Gupta is a staff writer for Houston Cougars on SI. He graduated from the University of Houston in the summer of 2025 with his bachelor’s in journalism and a minor in Spanish. Gupta spent three years at the student newspaper, The Daily Cougar, and also covered the 2025 Final Four and National Championship as Houston beat writer for College Basketball Review. He also has his own YouTube channel, Maanav’s Sports Talk, where he has interviewed professional athletes and broadcasters like Jim Nantz, Jose Altuve, J.J. Watt, Rich Eisen, and Alperen Sengun. Gupta was also a contributor to the Houston athletic program as a student. You can find Gupta on X, Instagram and TikTok @MGSportsTalk.